


it doesn't snow in national city

by rudeandginger



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Christmas fic, F/F, Useless Lesbians, can we have lucy back for real tho, did you expect something else, mistletoe is important, soft nonsense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2020-09-23 15:55:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20342728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rudeandginger/pseuds/rudeandginger
Summary: It doesn't snow in National City during the winter holidays, and Lena misses Metropolis badly. Enter Kara, the Spirit of Christmas Forever And Ever. They're hopeless gays. As usual.





	1. Chapter 1

"I suppose what throws me the most is that it's not going to get cold, -at all-," Lena mused, twirling her wine glass between her fingers absently.

"Oh, come on, it does too!" Kara argued. "It gets like, in the fifties a lot!"

Lena laughs. "That's not cold. That's -inconveniently chilly-."

Kara rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, because -Metropolis- has just the -perfect- weather," she said in the plummiest accent she could.

Lena laughed. "No, it has snow and -bitter cold-. And I don't miss it. Except when I see -palm trees- with Christmas lights on them." Her mouth twisted up in a sad smirk.

"We just have to make you -good- memories here then!" Kara wasn't going to tolerate that sad look on Lena's face for a single second. She grabbed the hand that wasn't holding the wine glass. "Starting -right now-."

Lena arched an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

Kara stood up and tugged on Lena's hand. "Come on."

Lena gave a dramatic sigh. "Do I have to put my wine down?"

"No, silly." Kara tugged again and pouted.

Lena sighed again, which came out as more of a chuckle, rolled her eyes, and got up.

Kara pulled her over to the windows and threw both of them open. "First, let's get -inconveniently chilly-."

Lena laughed. The weather was mild, not warm per se, but definitely not approaching anything she could call cold. "Maybe you should have tried to chill me before the second glass of vino."

"Fine, you can warm -me- up," Kara retorted, folding herself into Lena's arms before she could protest.

"You don't -get- cold, silly," Lena chuckled. "I don't remember why, but my eyes started to glaze over after the first ten minutes of Winn going on about your physiology."

"If you're going to wreck good memories with science, Miss Luthor, I'm going to...um...I'm going to..." Kara was -terrible- at coming up with this sort of thing, and she fizzled out.

"Eat the last potsticker? You do that anyway." Lena squeezed Kara gently. She wasn't going to protest the cuddling. She was already head over heels for her best friend as if life were a bad romcom, but Supergirl didn't need the complication of a partner, let alone one with her particular surname (she was sure of that). So Lena said -absolutely nothing- about it.

Kara wriggled happily, just -a little-, as Lena hugged her. This was the closest she was going to get to romance with her best friend without making an absolute fool of herself (she was sure of that), so she basked in the moment. "Lena, you're silly."

"Only because you're sillier." Lena tilted her head to rest against Kara's.

"Silly Kara, that's me." Kara hummed happily and closed her eyes.

They stood there together, neither wanting to let go, until a low-flying plane buzzed by and startled them both, the spell broken.

"Okay, now, next!" Kara grabbed Lena's hand and led her back to the couch. "Now that we're chilly, it's time for a Christmas movie!"

Lena groaned. "Did I mention my very least favourite part of the holidays is all the Christmas media? Trite movies, rapey songs..."

"We aren't going to listen to any of the rapey songs," Kara said firmly. "However, you are going to be quiet and -enjoy- How The Grinch Stole Christmas."

"Oh god," Lena threw herself back onto the couch with a thump, closing her eyes in despair and taking a sip of her wine. "Must we?"

"The original animation, not the remake," Kara said. "I wouldn't do that to you."

Lena had to admit that the short movie was kind of fun. Especially when Kara began singing the songs, in the voices of the characters. Lena nearly spit out her wine laughing when Kara turned to her, intoning “three decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich, with arsenic sauce” as deep as she could, resulting in what sounded like a baleful growl.

“Now really, how bad was it?” Kara asked as the credits ran.

Lena laughed. “I think it would have been worse without your narration.”

“Didn't you just love Max, though?” Kara smiled. “The first time I saw this I cried at how mean the Grinch was to his poor dog. I didn't really understand hyperbole in comedy. Sometimes I still don't.”

“Sometimes I'm not sure your level of adorable is -legal-,” Lena said. She was pretty sure she couldn't love Kara more than that exact second.

“Okay, so the next movie is called A Christmas Story,” Kara said, getting the DVD.

“That's original.”

“Well, the book was written in like, the 50s, and it takes place in the 30s, so snappy titles weren't a thing yet.” Kara popped the DVD in. “This is also a tradition for...pretty much anyone who celebrates Christmas. You'll see.”

“See, -that- is the kind of cold I'm talking about,” Lena said, gesturing with her empty wine glass at Randy who was being bundled into absurd amounts of outerwear.

Kara laughed and took the glass from her. “Let me refill that.”

“It really isn't fair you can't get buzzed on wine,” Lena called after her.

“I can level the field a little,” Kara called back. She poured herself a glass of the wine and added just a splash of the special bottle M’gann had sold her. Just enough to get her warm and fuzzy, like Lena. Who she was probably getting -way- too physically close with this afternoon, but she couldn't help it. Lena tried so hard to be the uncaring, unyielding stone, but Kara had seen the lost little orphan hiding behind it too many times. She was firmly stuck in Lena's orbit now, for better or worse, and if that meant being only friends, that's how she would take it, and be -happy- goshdarnit.

“And how do you plan on doing that?” Lena took her glass back.

“Trade secrets. But don't try it. It's deadly to you,” Kara replied, lifting her own glass.

“Cheers,” Lena said, clinking her glass against Kara's.

They laughed their way through the cheesy movie, and Lena had “official Red Ryder, carbine action, two hundred shot range model air rifle” committed to memory by the time it ended.

“Okay, -why- does anyone like that movie?” Lena asked during the credits.

“Because it's silly, fun, and you don't need to leave your brain running during it,” Kara replied.

“Are there any more movies? Because I have to pee,” Lena said.

“No, we decorate now. But go take care of business,” Kara said, waving her off. The alcohol was creeping in on her, and she had to admit she liked it. Not as a regular thing, but it relaxed her. And knowing she and Lena were on a more even footing now also helped.

When Lena came out of the bathroom, she saw a few boxes labeled “Lights”, “Tree”, and “Ornaments”.

“Okay, here's how this works,” Kara said, putting her hands on her hips. “First we put together the tree, then we string the lights on it, then we put on the ornaments.”

“Okay. Does the tree come with a manual?”

Kara giggled. “It isn't that complicated. Help me get it out of the box.”

Lena and Kara managed to assemble the tree with only a few mistakes and put it in a corner near an outlet. Kara then took the top off the light box and sighed. “I swear, I always put them away nicely but they tangle! In a box that doesn't move!”

“I'm sure I can work on them,” Lena said, reaching for the nearest tangled bundle.

“Nope, I don't wanna spend all day,” Kara said. “Lean back, please.”

Lena laughed as Kara used super speed to untangle and lay the lights out in rows.

Once the proper colour layout had been decided on and the lights all strung, Kara opened the ornament box. “Okay. There's a way this is done. A very specific way.”

Lena quirked an eyebrow. “Lay it on me.”

“Go through the box, and pick the one you like the best.”

Lena rummaged gently, laying ornaments carefully on the table, before she found the one that struck her. It was as far away from everything she was and had ever been, a delicate ballerina fairy with ice wings and a tutu the colour of Kara's eyes. She smiled at it. If she'd been alone, she probably would have frowned and thrown it just for existing, for daring to be beautiful and fragile in this ugly world. But it belonged to Kara, and knowing Kara, she probably loved it very much. Her heart gave an extra thump as she gazed at it laying in her hand.

“Ready?” Kara said from across the room. She saw which ornament Lena had picked, the fairy ballerina that Eliza had bought her the first Christmas she spent with the Danvers. “Because you danced in the stars before you came to us,” Eliza had told her gently while she sobbed. Alex had stood apart from them, still not sure what to do with her weird alien sister, but the next year they'd picked out ornaments together, committed to each other as family. So it was almost heartbreaking, in a way, that Lena had chosen that one for her first real Christmas, but it was also completely right.

“Yeah,” Lena said. She turned the little fairy carefully in her hands, admiring the details.

“Okay!” Kara hit play on the stereo.

Lena got up and turned to her. “Now what?”

“Wait for it. You'll know when it's time to put it on the tree.”

Lena waited. The slight orchestral noise from the stereo began to swell. It was the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey. She cracked a smile. “You're kidding.”

“Nope! Do it!” Kara grinned at her.

Lena went over to the tree and carefully hung the fairy as the horns trumpeted. She couldn't help laughing. It was silly and moving and her heart was threatening to explode in her chest.

Kara came up beside her with a ball ornament, decorated to look as if it had been sugared, and hung it on the next musical cue. “Epic tree decorating,” she said, looking over and grinning. “It's a thing.”

Lena decided (again) that she couldn't love Kara more than that exact second.

They put all the ornaments on the tree to a variety of orchestral songs from famous movies, including most of John Williams’s compositions. Neither would admit it, but they both fought off multiple urges to kiss each other. Kara had a story for every ornament, and Lena's heart broke when she heard the origin of the fairy.

“I’ve never done anything like this before,” Lena said to Kara as they sat back and admired their handiwork.

“Still miss bitter cold and snow?” Kara asked smugly.

“Maybe not as much now.”

“Okay, now we decorate the rest of the apartment.” Kara clapped her hands excitedly.

“With what? We used all the lights and ornaments.”

“Oh no. Those were only for the tree.” Kara grinned. “I'm going to get the lights, do you think you could get the garlands? They're on the top shelf of the broom closet.”

Lena nodded. “Okay. How could I have ever guessed you keep Christmas decorations in your broom closet instead of brooms!”

“Hey!” Kara yelled from the back of her apartment. “I have a broom! I have -two-!”

Lena laughed. She did love teasing Kara. She went over to the broom closet and opened it, noting that there were several boxes on the topmost shelf. -Crap, I might be too short for this.- She tried to reach the box labeled "Garlands", but even on her tiptoes and stretching, she couldn't grasp it properly. Instead, it came tumbling down onto her head. She shrieked in surprise as the box hit her and emptied all its contents.

Kara heard the thump and cry, and came running over. "Lena? Lena! Are you okay?"

Lena turned to look at Kara, rather dazed. She could feel fake greenery poking her scalp, but she let her hands fall to her sides. "I thought I had it..."

Kara's expression morphed into a disbelieving frown. She threw her hands up. "All right, the universe hates me. I give up."

Lena matched the frown with a worried one of her own. "No, it's okay, I'll get it."

As she bent down to retrieve the garlands scattered on the floor, Kara caught her wrists to stop her, pulling her back up. "No. It's just..."

Lena blinked, confused. "What?" She couldn't understand the expression on Kara's face.

Kara closed her eyes and sighed. Meeting Lena's eyes with her own, she whispered, "You have mistletoe on your head."

Dread and hope spread through Lena quicker than spilled ink on paper. Her eyes darted down to Kara's lips, then back to her eyes, then to her lips, then to her eyes. Then again, as Kara leaned in.

Kara slipped a hand behind Lena's neck and brought her in for the kiss. -I can't go on pretending.-

Lena let out a whimper that was scared and relieved at the same time. She wound her arms around Kara's waist and pulled her close as the kiss deepened.

"You wanted this too?" Kara whispered when the kiss ended but neither of them pulled away.

"So bad," Lena breathed.

Kara reached up and plucked the mistletoe out of Lena's hair, along with some other stray fake pine needles, before twining her arms back around Lena's neck. "I may be super, but sometimes I can be stupid."

"Don't you even," Lena said, kissing Kara to shut her up.

Kara whined softly as they broke the kiss. "Lena, I think I love you..."

"I'd say the same, but I don't -think-."

Kara frowned. She wasn't sure how to react to that.

"I -know-," Lena finished, this kiss stronger and demanding.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the first part somewhere in 2017, having only seen the first two seasons. But god, Season 5 is hurting my heart and all I want to do is write fixits, so here, have this little epilogue.

Almost all of the Superfriends had crowded into Kara's apartment. Nia had even convinced Brainy to come, and Lucy had flown in from Metropolis. Alex and Kelly were, of course, chatting by the windows, and James was making small talk with J'onn.

The only one missing was Lena, but that was by design. Now that everyone else had arrived, Kara texted to say that everything was ready.

Lena arrived five minutes later with a case of wine and a huge smile. "If someone doesn't let me know what to buy, I just get one of everything."

Alex grinned and took the case, setting it down on the counter. "You didn't bring any beer, did you?"

"If you'd asked, I would have. You have my number, -Director-," Lena replied, smirking.

"Whatever," Alex muttered, finding Kara's corkscrew and setting to work.

Kara grinned shyly at Lena, which was returned with a wink only she saw. Things had escalated quickly but beautifully a few nights before when the mistletoe fell on Lena's head, and both of them had decided that they'd go public with their new relationship at the party.

Once everyone had drinks in hand and the initial hunger rush of snacks had subsided, Kara plugged in the tree to oohs and ahhs of appreciation.

"Lena and I decorated the apartment the other night. Watch the doorways!" Kara laughed.

Brainy looked puzzled, and James promptly pushed him under the nearest doorway with mistletoe. Nia was all too happy to induct her boyfriend into this "strange tradition of Earth."

Kelly was the next one to get caught accidentally, and the resulting dip-and-kiss from Alex had everyone cheering and whistling.

Kara went to sit next to Lena, because that was always how they were. "When should we do it?" she whispered softly to Lena.

"In a bit, when everyone's more relaxed," Lena murmured back.

Another half hour went by, with drinks being refilled and the holiday music becoming more group karaoke than background. James ended up standing under the mistletoe, and Lucy gave him a peck on the cheek for old times' sake. J'onn did his level best to stay away from doors, but Alex and Kara teamed up to catch him under one of the little green plants and give him a double cheek kiss.

"Doesn't always have to be romantic!" Kara said, smiling at her father figure.

"If that's how you must have it," J'onn rumbled.

Lena played her role perfectly, slightly awkward and standing in the back. Until a -very- inebriated Lucy ended up hip-checking her right under the biggest sprig of mistletoe.

The entire group roared, and Lena turned the brightest red anyone had ever seen her.

"It doesn't have to be romantic," Nia called.

Kara set her drink down and walked over. "Yes, Nia, it absolutely does."

The Superfriends went deadly silent as Kara stepped under the mistletoe. Lena slid her hands around the back of Kara's neck as Kara pulled her close by the waist and they kissed in front of everyone, their familiarity with such things clear as day.

"Oh. My. -God-!" Nia squealed as they pulled apart gently. "How long?!"

"Kara Danvers, I'm going to murder you," Alex said. "You finally do what everyone expects you to and you keep it a secret?!"

Lena laid her head on Kara's shoulder. "It's only been a few days."

Kara cuddled her closer. "Our first kiss was actually due to mistletoe."

Lena's dreamy smile astounded them all. "I think it was this exact one, too."

"As everyone in this room has, if I'm using the term correctly, -shipped- these two together for quite a long time, I suggest a toast," Brainy said, raising his glass. "To Kara and Lena."

"And can they please make this last so we don't have to deal with anymore lovesickness?" Alex snarked.

Lena buried her face in Kara's shoulder in embarrassment. Kara reached up and stroked her hair, swaying gently to comfort her.

"That's not fair, Alex," Kelly said gently. "They've had a lot to work out."

"I can't lie to myself anymore," Kara said, still holding Lena close. "I made myself a promise, and I'm keeping it."

Lena lifted her head. "What promise?"

"That I deserve to be -happy-," Kara said softly. "And my happy is with you."

The entire group cheered and drank as their favourite two useless lesbians kissed again, tenderly.

**Author's Note:**

> Try the epic tree decorating thing next Christmas. My sister-in-law and her family came up with the idea a zillion years ago, and it's really special to do with your loved ones.


End file.
